The Tatami Galaxy

The Tatami Galaxy is really unlike any anime you've seen. Not necessarily in it's premise, but in the way it's executed.

The Tatami Galaxy follows the story of an unnamed protagonist who meets a demi-god of love and matchmaking at a strange ramen restaurant. Over the course of many tries, the protagonist relives the same two years over and over again, trying to find the "rose tinted college life" he dreams of. He tries out different clubs, has to deal with his only friend Ozu who is basically the worst person alive, always attempting and chickening out to ask out the same girl he has a crush on. You know, college life.

Although it's somewhat episodic, the show cleverly wraps all the episodes up into a cool storyline that makes every episode relevant and unique. We learn more about characters that you originally believe were background characters, and learn that the characters we see on screen have a lot more to them than what meets the eye.

If I were to really talk about what makes this show so special, that would actually end up spoiling it. So you just have to trust me on this one. This show is incredible and it's not that long so give it a try. You won't be disappointed.

My first review here, just like the other person who's reviewed this so far. I'll make it short. This is one of the greatest series I've ever seen. Minute for minute this was one of the most worthwhile watching experiences I've ever had, anime or not. The animation as absolutely beautiful, often including multiple mediums and styles, the main style being very stark drawings with very subdued subtle coloring and great animation, but also including highly stylized film-work on occasion, the occasional splash of 3d, another very vividly colored style, and a really odd sort of chalk-board looking style of cg for particular scenes. The story is an adaptation of a novel, and the visuals tell it in a way that never could've come through in novel form, which are the best kind of adaptations in my opinion, I'm very curious about the original novel though. I'll just go ahead and not cover any parts of the story, as you can find that many places, including here, and I'd rather not spoil any more for you. Watch this now! These 4 hours of TV will not be ones you feel like you wasted, permitting you enjoy good art.

The characters are great, have some Curious music, and really interesting way to tell the story

I loved a lot of things in this series but I felt confused some times.

I would recommend it to everyone who is interested in something unique.

'The Tatami Galaxy,' based on a novel by Tomihiko Morimi and directed by Masaaki Yuasa, is a high-concept YA mini-series with an intriguingly bizarre premise: a young nameless student arrives at college with high hopes of experiencing an idealized "rose-colored campus life," joins an activity circle that he eventually becomes disillusioned with when it fails to lead to his ideal college life, gets mixed up in a series of ludicrous situations, and finally wishes to start over and join a different activity circle, causing time to rewind and prompting him to start over again. However, choosing a different activity makes no difference, as the protagonist gets bogged down by the same disappointments, gets embroiled in escapades with the same level of lunacy, and even gets faced with the same eccentric cast of characters.

The protagonist's constant striving and failing to achieve his desired lifestyle gives the show a quirky and darkly humorous streak that also comes across as nihilistic. It also gives the show a vehicle through which to deliver its central themes.

'The Tatami Galaxy' is a show that warns its viewers to not expect too much and to embrace what they get instead. This is showcased through the journey of the nameless student. Every time the intellectual youngster goes back in time and redoes his first two years at college, he fails to recognize many of the good things that made up those two years due to his arrogance in pursuing the perfect life.

The show also relies heavily on an atmosphere of loss and the sense that something is missing or missed out on. This sense of incompletion is ever-present in the protagonist and his escapades as he completely misses all that made his life at college precious. Likewise, viewers of the show experience the feeling that they have missed something as 'The Tatami Galaxy' is an extremely fast-paced show where every episode flies by in blink-and-you'll-miss-it moments (and blink-and-you'll-miss-it subtitles), so fast that two years of the protagonist's life go by in 22 minutes! This rapid-fire pace is concurrent with another core theme of 'The Tatami Galaxy.' The speed of the show emphasizes the fact that life doesn't stop for anyone (even if one can go back in time and relive his last two years), so one must appreciate and enjoy those amazing moments while they last. As Ferris Bueller once said, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

Life does move fast in 'The Tatami Galaxy,' and every moment that flies by in each episode is unlike anything ever seen. From a bike-stealing agency whose sole purpose is to spoil one's day to a lifelong war of pranks between a zen-like super senior and a lecherous club president to a love doll that gets treated as a real person by any individual who comes across it, every episode of 'The Tatami Galaxy' is chockful of creative absurdities that make for an entertaining experience. It embraces weirdness while remaining grounded in the ugliness of human error, all the while reminding viewers that they are capable of avoiding the same mistakes and enjoying life for what it is. It is an enjoyable show, and I recommend it for anyone looking for something different to watch.

This anime series is centred on an unnamed college student in Kyoto who feels that he has wasted his time there; he has no girlfriend and he has made only two friends' Ozo, who has no redeemable features, and first year student Ms. Akashi. One night he meets a god who tells him that Akashi will end up with either Ozo or our protagonist. He just has to grab the opportunity dangling in front of him. Our protagonist finds himself reliving the previous two years; each time making different choices, such as joining different clubs.

If you think all anime look the same then this will disprove that idea. The character designs and backgrounds are unlike any other series I recall watching, and I've watched quite a few. The story might sound repetitive but, while there are recurring events, each episode has more differences... and the similar moments prove humorous for the most part. There is a fairly small main cast but they are fun characters; our protagonist is the closest to a normal person. Ozo is strange, both in actions and appearance, he also provides much of the amusement. This series won't be for everybody but I'd certainly recommend it to anime fans looking for something different.

These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.